Respirator.



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(Application filed July 2, 1898.1

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TH: noums Preis co. PHoTmLrrum wAsmNaYcN, DA c4 UNiTEn STATES PATENTOFFICE.

OORYDON B. LAKIN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

RES PIRATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 630,242, dated August1, 1899.

Application tiled Iuly 2,1898.

To @ZZ whom i may concern:

Be it known that I, CORYDON B. LAKIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at fashington, in the District of Columbia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Respirators; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use t-he same.

The object is, without inconvenience to the user and in a ready, simple,and thoroughly eflicient manner, to preclude entrance of dust, germs',or like deleterious substances into the nose, throat, and lungs and atonce to present a means of disinfecting and medicating the air passingto the lungs. Heretofore many devices have been constructed for thispurpose; but an inherent objection to all has been that in use they aretroublesome of adjustment and highly inconvenient by reason of weight orsize.

In mills, foundries, and machine-shops, more particularly in the latter,where a workman is stationed at a grinding or polishing machine, the airis always charged with floating particles ot' mineral and metallicsubstances, which, entering the nose and throat, are productive of greatinconvenience at the time and frequently in the end are injurious tosuch an extent as to cause death. To present an efficient respirator, itis essential that the same shall be of such construction that it may beworn without its presence being a constant source of irritation andannoyance to the wearer, as where such defects attend its use aprospective user would prefer running the risks of injury rather thansubmit himself to the inconvenience and discomfort by being burdened bya device no matter how efficient it may be. The necessary concomitantsof such a device are therefore that it should be light in weight,readily adjustable to position, and without in any way interfering withthe breathing, to preclude any entrance of dust or geruis of disease,and which shall be self-adjusting to the parts designed to be protected.

To these ends, therefore, the invention consists in a respiratorcomprising a suitable frame or support adapted to occupy a positionbeneath the nose of the wearer and to be held in place by ordinary bows,such as are employcd in connection with spectacles, the sup- Serial No.685,066. (No model.)

port carrying the material to constitute the shield or d ust-arrester.The frame is by preference bent to such shape as closely to hug theupper lip of the wearer, and the dust-arrester comprises rows ofoutward-projecting, flexible, and readily-yieldable fibers, preferablyof hair or bristles, which in use will lie snugly against the walls ofthe nostrils, and thus prevent the entrance of dust or germs at thesepoints and also from beneath. The fibers may be of hair or bristles, asstated, or of fine non-corrosive metal, or of any other substance suitedto the purpose. The outer ends of the fibers are uncontined and are thusfree to yield in any direction to cause them in use to conform to thecontour of the nose of the wearer. In addition to the fibers of theshield for protecting the nose additional fibers of the same ordifferent materials may project downwardly to cover the mouth of thewearer, and thus preclude entrance of deleterious substances through themouth.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification andin which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, I haveillustrated a form of embodiment ot' my invention with a modification,it being understood that other forms of embodiment thereof may beemployed without departing from the spirit of the same, and in thedrawings- Figure 1 is a view in elevation, showing a human head with myrespirator positioned thereon. Fig. 2 is a detached view in perspective,showing the manner in which the fibers or hairs are held in place withinthe frame. Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation, partly in section,displaying the frame before it is bent to shape to iit the wearer. Fig.4t is also a view in perspective detail, showing a combined nose andmouth guard. Fig. 5 is a view in elevation, partly in section, showing aslightly-modilied form of the mannerin which the bows are assembled withrelation to the frame; and Fig. 6 is a perspective detail View showing amodified form of bow, wherein a hinge is employed to permit the twomembers of the bow to be folded to reduce the space occupied by therespirator when carried on the person.

Referring to the drawings and to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 thereof, A designatesthe frame or support of the respirator, the same'being constructed, bypreference, of any metal which in IOO use will be non-corrosive,preferably of silver or aluminium. This frame is struck up from a singlepiece of metal and is bent to form a cylindrical body portion ct andside flanges a2, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The tufts or bunches offibers-in this instance of hairs or bristles-composing the shield B ares`ecured Within the frame by being'bent upon themselves, with the bendshoused within its cylindrical portion a and with the center portion ofthe bow A2 passing through the bends, after which the flanges a2 arecrimped or otherwise brought together in such manner as firmly to holdthe tufts in place. In addition to the flanges for holding the tufts inplace within the frame a suitable cement or adhesive may be includedaround the bends,

-thus further to give security to the assemblage of the tufts. The endsof the frame are reduced to form tubular projections co3, at whichpoints the bows are firmly attached, as by being soldered or otherwisesecured therein. These bows may be formed of a single piece of wirepassing through the frame and bent at each end in such manner as to liealong the cheek of the wearer, with the ends hooked to pass over theears of the wearer, the metal of which the bows are made to be ofresilient character in order to cause the shield always to press beneaththe nose of the wearer, as shown in Fig. 1. The unconfined extremitiesof the fibers or hairs are fashioned as a whole, by preference, into asemicircle, as shown in Fig. 3, so that in use the longest hairs will beat the center'of the nose and the shorter at the nostrils, and by reasonof the yielding character of the hairs these will closely hug againstthe nostrils with sufficient pressure to exclude thoroughly andeffectively the entrance of dust or the like to the nostrils, theexclusion being rendered more effective by the moisture of the breathupon the filaments of the shield but the assemblage of the hairs is notof such character as to interfeie in the least with the free breathingof the wearer, so that in use any discomfort will be entirely obviated.

In addition to the shield B for precluding the entrance of dust to thenostrils I may in some instances employ an additional shield B2to-ftover the mouth of the wearer, thus to prevent entrance of dust or thelike to the lungs through the mouth,this shield to be constructed ofhair or other fibrous material,and held in place by the bowsin the samemanner as that described in connection with the shield B, the frame tobe provided with openings a4 on its lower side, through which the tuftsof the shield B2 project, the constructiony of the whole rendering iteasily detachable from the face to be washed and resupplied withdisinfectants or medicaments and returned to position for use.

As shown in Figs. l, 2, 3, and 4, the bows are formed from a continuouspiece of wire passing through the frame; but, if preferred, these bowsmay each comprise a separate piece of wire secured in place in thetubular projections a3, as shown in Fig. 5, the fibers or tufts to besecured in place by a separate piece of wire a5. Instead of having thebows continuous from end to end I may, if preferred, employ hinges, asa0, at any point or points in the bows whereby to permit of their beingfolded up, as in the manner of an ordinary pair of spectacles, thus toshorten the length of the device and to permit of its being readilycarried in the pocket. In addition to this the end of each bow may beprovided with a knob or may be bent upon itself, as at a7, to preventany inconvenience to the wearer.

I am aware that knitted fabrics and fabrics made of horsehairwoven topresent a reticulated surface have been employed as a shield in arespirator and also that sponge and other materials have been employedfor the same purpose, but in all of these the shield has been confinedthroughout its entire area by a frame, whereas in my device only therearportion, or that which will lie against the face of the wearer, isconfined, the outer end or portion of the shield being free to yield,and thus readily to adjust itself to the nostrils and mouth of thewearer and to admit of a free passage of air to and from the lungs.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. A respirator comprising a frame shaped to conform to the face, and ashield held by the frame and constructed of hair or bristles secured attheir inner portions in said frame, leaving the unconfined extremitiesfree'to yield and thus to adjust themselves to the part to be protected,substantially as described.

2. A respirator comprising a frame and a shield carried thereby, theshield being composed of hair or bristlesbent upon themselves andconfined within the frame, and va wire passed through the bends of thebristles, substantially as described.

3. A respirator comprising a frame and a shield carried thereby, theshield being composed of hair or bristles bent upon themselves andconfined within the frame, and a wire passed through the bends of thebristles and having its extremities formed into bows, sub- IOS IIO

